The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP) enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school.  Through the currently offered courses, each culminating in a rigorous exam, AP provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both.  Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought out the most rigorous course work available to them.

Each AP course is modeled upon a comparable college course, and college and university faculty play a vital role in ensuring that AP courses align with college-level standards.  

Each AP exam costs $98.  AP Research and AP Seminar exam fees are $146.  There are no additional fees for obtaining the AP Seminar and Research Certificate or the AP Capstone Diploma.

AP courses offered for 2023-2024:

• AP 2-D Art and Design
• AP 3-D Art and Design
• AP Art History
• AP Biology
• AP Calculus AB
• AP Calculus BC
• AP Chemistry
• AP Comparative Government and Politics
• AP Computer Science Principles
• AP Drawing
• AP English Language and Composition
• AP English Literature and Composition
• AP Environmental Science
• AP French Language and Culture
• AP Human Geography
• AP Latin
• AP Physics 1
• AP Precalculus
• AP Psychology
• AP Research
• AP Seminar
• AP Spanish Language and Culture
• AP United States Government and Politics
• AP United States History
• AP World History: Modern

AP courses are weighted.  In order to receive the weight factor, students must finish the course and take the College Board AP examination.

AP Capstone Diploma Program Details

Students typically take AP Seminar in grade 10 or 11, followed by AP Research. Each course is yearlong, and AP Seminar is a prerequisite for AP Research. In both courses, students investigate a variety of topics in multiple disciplines. Students may choose to explore topics related to other AP courses they’re taking. Both courses guide students through completing a research project, writing an academic paper, and making a presentation on their project.

Over the course of the two-year program, students are required to:

• Analyze topics through multiple lenses to construct meaning or gain understanding.
• Plan and conduct a study or investigation.
• Propose solutions to real-world problems.
• Plan and produce communication in various forms.
• Collaborate to solve a problem.
• Integrate, synthesize, and make cross-curricular connections.

Awards

Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing receive the AP Capstone Diploma. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research but not on four additional AP Exams receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate.

Pedagogy

AP Capstone gives students the following pedagogical foundation, called QUEST framework, to develop, practice, and hone their critical and creative thinking skills as they make connections between various issues and their own lives:

• Question and Explore
• Understand and Analyze Arguments
• Evaluate Multiple Perspectives
• Synthesize Ideas
• Team, Transform, and Transmit